Sunsari farmer cultivates marigolds commercially ahead of Tihar

SUNSARI: Arjun Bista, a farmer from Barahakshetra Municipality-6 in Sunsari, has cultivated marigolds commercially on five katthas of land this year, targeting the Tihar festival.

Bista, who has been growing marigolds for the past five years to meet the increased demand during Tihar, has planted the ‘Table Tennis’ variety this year.

He said the plants brought from Kathmandu were taller and produced fewer flowers than expected. However, he noted that overall production had improved this year after he changed the flower variety and cultivation techniques.

Last year, Bista cultivated marigolds on more than 10 katthas of land but suffered significant losses due to rainfall. Despite much of the crop being damaged, he managed to sell flowers worth more than Rs 200,000 during Tihar, as the surviving flowers fetched good prices in the market.